1989 - Volume #13, Issue #5, Page #07
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Push Along Feed Cart Unloads On The Go
The cart, made from 16-ga. sheet metal, is 20 in. wide, 4 ft. long, and 3 ft. high. Its four 8-in. dia. rubber wheels ride on a pair of 2 by 4 boards along the bottom edges of the bunk and are guided by 2 by 8 boards along the sides of the bunk. Delorme uses a 5-gal. pail to fill the cart from a bin at one end of the bunk, then pulls a lever to release feed from an opening in the bottom of the cart as he pushes it down the bunk .
"We had been dumping 5-gal. pails of feed by hand into a row of 16-ft. long bunks," says Delorme. "It was a lot of work, especially in soft ground, and we couldn't fill the bunks up fast enough to keep the bigger cattle from pushing the smaller ones out of the way and the bunks got banged up when cattle walked on top of them. These specially-built bunks are secured in the ground by posts, and cables across the top of them keep cattle out. The cart holds 26 5-gal. pails of feed or up to 1,200 lbs. We mainly feed barley mixed with rape screenings. At one time we considered installing an automatic feed auger in the bunk, but decided we didn't want to worry about power outages or deal with maintenance problems. Besides, it isn't much work to use the cart."
At feeding time, Delorme rotates four different pens of cattle into the pen with the specially-built feed bunk.
The cart's 4-in. wide bottom opening runs the length of the cart right down the middle. One side of the steel flap over the opening is hinged and the other side is connected to a vertical arm that runs up to a lever at the top of the cart.
Delorme spent about $150 to build the cart. He says he'll custom-build carts or supply do-it-yourself plans.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Pierre Delorme, Box 37, Sylvania, Sask., Canada S0E 1S0 (ph 306 873-5768).
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